For Joyce Cue
November 25, 2011I’m editing the prayerbook for December. The topic is “service,” and is the last of our purgative, or cleaning-house, vows that stand counter to the great temptations of money, sex and power. In October we focused on simplicity to seek cleansing from the temptation of endless acquisition. Here in November our focus is purity, which stands against (among other things) the temptation to treat people as objects, vessels of our own gratification. A vow of service–”In a world that idolizes power, individualism and ego we’ll demonstrate Christ’s way of serving through practical acts of love”–forces us to look the temptation of being bigger and better than anyone else squarely in the eye.
It’s fitting to concentrate on service this December for a few reasons. The most obvious one is that this is the month we celebrate the birth of our God who came to serve us. It is also a month where winter officially sets in (at least in the Northern hemisphere). The most vulnerable among us are more vulnerable in December than August. Those who have no home may find warmth and safety harder to come by. Those who suffer depression may find interior gloom darkened by diminishing sunshine.
As I worked on assembling the quotes for the December prayerbook, I found another reason to be glad we are talking about service this coming month.
A few weeks ago, Cincinnati lost a living icon of service. Joyce Cue was a social worker in one of our region’s most economically disadvantaged neighborhoods, Over-the-Rhine. She worked with the poor and marginalized for well over twenty years, most recently at Our Daily Bread, a food and hospitality ministry here. At her memorial, testimony after testimony was made of her giving spirit, her ever-present smile, and her deep faith in God which empowered her in her work.
I discovered as I went over the quotes we gathered on the topic of service that we had included a quote from Joyce. So now, fittingly, Joyce is present in Formed’s December prayerbook. We quote her in Short Reading for December 30th: “I always felt that I needed to be in a place to help people, and somehow that’s what I’ve been doing. I guess my prayers have been answered.”
Thank you, Ms. Joyce, for your service and your inspiration. May our God guide us to be as joyful in our service as you were in yours.
Comments (2)
November 29, 2011, 7:45 am
Thanks for the feedback, Andrea! And my apologies for my delay in posting it–still getting used to how this blog works…!
November 27, 2011, 8:50 am
I appreciate your recognition of Joyce Cue, even though I never knew her.
… but also the perspective you offer on the timing of the formed prayerbook. I had never though of these months as countering money, sex, and power and am grateful for the insight Angela.